1988 Kentucky Wildcats football team American college football season
The 1988 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season . The Wildcats scored 217 points while allowing 208 points.[ 1] [ 2] This was Jerry Claiborne 's seventh season as Kentucky's head coach. The Wildcats finished 5–6, one victory shy of bowl eligibility; the highlight of the season was an upset of #11 ranked Georgia.
Kentucky opened with a win against Central Michigan, then lost at #7 Auburn and Indiana before beating Kent State. Losses to #12 Alabama and at #19 LSU followed. Next were wins against #11 Georgia, Southern Illinois and Vanderbilt, then losses to Florida and at Tennessee.[ 3]
The victory over Georgia was the season's high point. Running back Alfred Rawls, a Georgia native, had 128 yards and a touchdown rushing and linebacker Randy Holleran had 13 tackles; #11 Georgia was held to 224 yards of total offense.[ 4]
Schedule
Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 3 Central Michigan * W 18–741,736 [ 5]
September 10 at No. 7 Auburn L 10–2067,000 [ 6]
September 17 at Indiana * L 15–3651,077 [ 7]
September 24 Kent State * Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY W 38–1447,989 [ 8]
October 1 No. 12 Alabama Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY L 27–3153,442 [ 9]
October 15 at No. 19 LSU L 12–1571,418 [ 10]
October 22 No. 11 Georgia Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY W 16–1050,416 [ 11]
October 29 Southern Illinois * Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY W 24–1050,093 [ 12]
November 5 Vanderbilt Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry ) W 14–1344,105 [ 13]
November 12 Florida Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry ) L 19–2450,191 [ 14]
November 19 at No. 11 Tennessee L 24–2890,353 [ 15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 16] [ 17]
Team players in the 1989 NFL Draft
[ 18] [ 19]
References
^ "1988 Kentucky Wildcats results" . Archived from the original on October 6, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009 .
^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.209
^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.168, 209
^ Story, Mark, UK football's greatest wins at Commonwealth, Lexington Herald-Leader, September 4, 2011
^ "Chips drop fumblefest, 18–7" . Detroit Free Press . September 4, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Tigers won't celebrate 20–10 victory" . Columbus Ledger-Enquirer . September 11, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "IU captures the Barrel" . The Times-Mail . September 18, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Kentucky overpowers Kent, 38–14" . The Cincinnati Enquirer . September 25, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "UK left with tears after Tide rushes in with crusher at 0:10" . The Courier-Journal . October 2, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "LSU drains Kentucky again" . The Paducah Sun . October 16, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Georgia gets the blues" . The Knoxville News-Sentinel . October 23, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Fowler, Scott (October 30, 1988). "UK finally awakens to knock off SIU 24-10" . The Courier-Journal . p. C1. Retrieved January 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Clark's kick, VU fall short 14–13" . The Tennessean . November 6, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gators find an offense and victory" . Tallahassee Democrat . November 13, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "UK ends year of near-misses with 28–24 loss to Tennessee" . The Courier-Journal . November 20, 1988. Retrieved November 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "College Football Reference" . Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2009 .
^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.168
^ "1989 NFL Draft Listing | Pro-Football-Reference.com" . Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009 .
^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p.166
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